 Thank you for staying with us at Steel Plus Politics and my name is Nyam Ghul Aghgadi. Right now we'll be looking at the inclusion of persons living with disabilities in the political and electoral process in Nigeria. The discrimination against persons with disabilities is a global phenomenon. However, most countries of the world have moved from such discriminatory practices to an inclusive society for persons with disabilities. The population of persons with disability in Nigeria, which is about 30 million, is higher than the entire population of five countries in the West African sub-region. Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of the major countries in Africa where little or no attention is paid to the plight of persons with disabilities. Hence, there are exclusion from governance, electoral process, healthcare, education, employment, and social community life. Joining me to discuss this is Comrade Louise Aouta, President, CEO, Network of Women with Disabilities. Louise, thank you for joining us. You're welcome. Thank you for joining us. Louise. When I hear Louise, the name Louise, I think of Superman's girlfriend. That's by the way. Okay. Well, a lot of promises were made for the 2023 elections. Some of them, a lot of people are complaining about, how was it with the disability or the people living with disability community? Was there inclusion as what you expected or were there things that still needed to be done and were not done? Yes. Inclusion of persons with disabilities in quality is a gradual process. For over 20 years, we advocated for the passage and signing of the Endurance Disability Act, in 2019, that was achieved at the beginning of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities talks about the right to participate, to vote, and to be voted for. Having said that, disability inclusion in the electoral process is a gradual process, because where we were 10 years ago is not where we are right now. We have moved, we have made some progress, and we have recorded some milestones. 2023 elections, for me, I'm disappointed with INEG. I have to say the truth, because they promised us citizens with disabilities that they are going to deploy assistive devices for those with visual impairment, for those with alginising, hearing impairment, to be able to vote independently. Assistive devices like tactile ballad papers, magnifying glasses, for those with alginising, and other devices that could aid voters with disabilities to be able to vote independently. Some out of the 200 plus assistive devices that INEG promised to deploy, the number that was able to assess those assistive devices was nothing to write home about. And some polling units were not accessible. They were not inclusive, promised by INEG. Yes, INEG is doing well. Now we have a department on gender and inclusion of persons with disabilities, but we need to do more. INEG need to work with organisations of persons with disabilities to be able to give us our rights as citizens of this country who have the rights to vote and to be voted for. So for me, I'm not happy with the result that was recorded by the inclusive friends association and South Africa, the Arduino Foundation Africa, who were at the station, they monitored, they observed and they also evaluated the 2020 elections. I got this report from them. Thank you. Say that where we were 10 years ago, it's not where we are right now. What are some of these things that you found in this election that were not available in previous elections? Let's begin to see the marked improvement that they have made, even though it was not enough, before we go into what they should have done. Yes, just like I said in my opening statement that where we were 10 years ago is where we are right now. 10 years ago, there was no Nigerian disability acts, 10 years ago, there was no national commission for persons with disabilities, 10 years ago, there was no a department in INEG for gender and inclusivity. Right now we have it. 10 years ago, there was no policy or the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the electoral process. So these four instruments I just mentioned are legal rights for persons with disabilities to try. First, we have our disability act. Second, national commission to be able to manage our affairs. And thirdly, the department that we have in INEG to also manage our issues and our activities. And lastly, the addition of other policies by INEG. We have to invite this period of implementation. Without it, we won't be able to achieve those rights. We will be able to go back home and feel excited that yes, INEG has done well. Today, I was able to vote independently, the QP course accessible to me, the ballot papers were accessible to me, and other devices that INEG needs to provide for citizens with disabilities. Thank you. I have been following the struggle by people living with disabilities over the years to make sure that some of these things that you have mentioned that the government has done, INEG has done and everything, comes to fruition. But now that these things have been done, like you said, the spirit of implementation needs to be imbibed, what plans do you have as people living with disabilities to make sure that these documents, these commissions, these things that they have done in your favor begin to work in your favor. Because as it stands, my people say, if your apparel that you used to dance doesn't do what it's supposed to do, you use your hand and make sure it does what it's supposed to do. So how are you going to play your drum to make sure that the government and all the relevant people dance to the tune that you are saying, that you are playing? Yes, we need to keep advocating, we need to keep saying it, we need to keep speaking up. We need to keep reminding the government about their promises, their agenda, the what are the news do you use to remind them and to talk to the government? Yes, we need to tell the government to appoint us, because persons with disabilities have gone to school, we have graduates, we have educated people amongst us that can be appointed as ministers, as commissioners, as DGs of different MDAs. We have the capacity, we have the competency and we have the character to be able to do extraordinary things in public offices. So I'm appealing to government and key actors to appoint persons with disabilities, to believe in us, to engage us, employ us, educate us, those that have not gone to school should be given free education or scholarship to study within or outside the country because if we are not educated we cannot do politics, we cannot join politics and involve actively. So we need to put these things in place, appointive and elective positions when persons with disabilities come out to ask for your vote, support them. In the 2023 elections, I think only 30 people with disabilities came out to aspire for elective positions. This needs to be encouraged, we need to see more of them because as it is, we are at a 0% level of participation in Nigerian politics. And this is sad when you go to other countries, we see persons with disabilities doing a lot of extraordinary things. But in this country, the level playing ground is not the same. So we want to see equal opportunities, we want to see our rights being given to us. We want to see inclusion in the political spectrum. Thank you. Okay, it goes beyond just asking for government to give you what some people will call handouts. But what do you do to encourage your people to build the character that will be good enough to get all these rights that you're talking about? What do you do to encourage people to come out to do what they need to do and ask for their rights? I'm interested in that. Do you build character within your sphere? Do you encourage people? Do you do what you need to do for people to come out and be themselves the way they should be? Yes, but for me, I don't think I agree with this statement. We have persons with PhDs in the disability community. We have doctors, academic doctors in the disability community. We are educated. So we have to be encouraged when we come out. I ran for elections in 2019 in the FCT for House of Presentatives, 2023 slash 2023. I also ran in Kajumina State for House of Assembly in Kaurak Estates to be precise. What people see is disability before the ability. They see my wheelchair first before noise outer. I will never forget when I was on a live radio program just like this one we are having, when someone called in and said, Madam, go back home and sleep. You don't have anything to offer. When we were at an interview section with other two male candidates, I was only female during that interview section. So why did he feel that I should be the one to go back home? Why didn't he tell the other two male candidates to go back home? Because I'm a woman with disability and the barriers that surrounded me are stopping me. Is it infrastructural barrier? Is it attitudinal barrier? Is it inadequate funding? Is it ethnicity? Coming from Kajumina, lived in Abujamari to Apoibo. All these diverse elements are stopping many of us to try in the political arena. So we need to remove these barriers. All these institutional barriers and other, even language barrier, because I remember when I ran in the FCT, I couldn't communicate with some of the baggy people at the grassroots. They did not understand English and I did not understand their language. So all these things need to be removed and be able to give a level playing ground for aspirants with disabilities or candidates with disabilities. Okay. It means not just the government. All the people need to do more. The people living with disabilities will do more. Government will do more. Citizens will do more. It's a collective responsibility to make sure that we get to that point where every citizen has equal rights to vote, be voted for, to go to school and to enjoy the basics of life. Thank you so much, Louis Outer, for coming on the programme and sharing more light on some of these challenges. And we do hope that going forward, whatever has been done in your favour will be implemented also in your favour. Thank you for coming on the show. You're welcome. Thank you. Okay, we've been talking with Comrade Louis Outer, President and CEO Network of Women with Disabilities, and we were X-raying what went on in the 2023 election and the inclusiveness, whether it was as much as they dreamed of. We'd like to draw the curtain on Plus Politics today on that note, hoping that everybody will play their part to make sure that we all are enjoying life the way we need to enjoy life as citizens of Nigeria. My name is Nyam Gul Aggaji. Let's do it again tomorrow. Bye.